Welcome to the Fall 2024 Semester at Temple Libraries!

Exterior view of Charles Library’s Frederic S. Schroeder and Family Green roof, photo by Michael Grimm.

Dive into the fall 2024 semester at Temple University with Temple Libraries by your side! Our extensive resources, knowledgeable staff, and tailored services are here to propel your academic success. Let us be your partner in unlocking new possibilities and achieving your goals. 

In this post you’ll learn ways to use the Libraries to your advantage this academic year. Be sure to check out our website for more resources, and ways to connect with us! 

Find what you need to succeed  

The Libraries provide access to a broad range of physical and online materials—including books, journals, articles, music, and movies—all discoverable through Library Search.  

If it’s rare or unique archival materials you’re after, learn more about the Special Collections Research Center and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection and or peruse our digital collections.  

Each semester the Libraries compile a list of digitally available textbooks that may substitute for required or recommended course textbooks. They are available to students at no cost. 

Personalized Research Support at Your Fingertips 

Exterior view of Charles Library, photo by Michael Grimm.

Embarking on a research project or paper? Our dedicated team of subject librarians and specialists are here to guide you every step of the way. No matter your field of study or academic pursuit, we have an expert librarian or specialist well-versed in your discipline, ready to provide tailored assistance. 

Connecting with your personal research guru is a breeze. Simply choose the mode that suits you best: 

  • Chat: Our 24/7 chat service ensures you’ll always have a knowledgeable librarian or specialist at your disposal, no matter when inspiration strikes. 
  • Email: Prefer the written word? Fire off an email, and your librarian or specialist will respond promptly with insightful guidance. 

  • Appointments: For in-depth consultations, schedule a virtual or in-person appointment at your convenience. Your librarian or specialist will be fully dedicated to your research needs. 

With our comprehensive support services, you’ll quickly find your way to the best academic resources for your project. Embrace the power of personalized research assistance and elevate your scholarly endeavors to new heights. 

Research at your own pace 

Once you’ve reviewed your syllabi, explore our curated Research Guides for subjects, courses, and research skill development expertly assembled by subject librarians and specialists. 

Develop your research skills through self-paced tutorials. We also offer tailored undergraduate and graduate user guides to kickstart your library journey seamlessly. 

Access tech! 

Need to print or photocopy something? Or just need a computer? Take advantage of the laptop lending program and charging options and investigate Temple’s Print on the Go service for all your printing needs! 

Students studying by the oculus on the third floor near the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio, photo by Heidi Roland Photography.

Explore spaces to study! 

We offer a variety of open seating options to satisfy student needs for individual and group study. Students can book study rooms ahead of time at Charles Library and the Ginsburg Health Sciences Library.  

If you are interested in making use of the Libraries’ advanced equipment and technology, visit the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio in Charles Library and the Innovation Space at Ginsburg Health Sciences Library. 

The Scholars Studio has many spaces to create in, such as the Tech Sandbox, the Makerspace, and the Media Production Studio. The media production studio is a room designed for individuals and groups to record and edit audio for podcasts, music, and more! It contains a PC and Mac setup as well as professional recording equipment, so no matter what you’re used to working with, we’ve got you covered. It can be reserved from Monday-Friday between the hours of 9AM and 5PM and is open to students, faculty, and staff of Temple University. 

Attend our free events and workshops! 

We host various events and workshops throughout the academic year. In addition, we’ll be offering a lineup of concerts, conversations, and specialized workshops, on everything from CV writing to graphic design for visual abstracts to 3D printing.  

As always, our events and workshops are free and open to all. 

Performance at one of our Beyond the Notes public programming series, photo by Heidi Roland Photography.

Stay up to date! 

Follow us on social media and sign up for our mailing list to get future updates from the Libraries, including upcoming events and exhibits, featured resources, and more.  

Building Collections & Building Community with Temple Libraries

Illustration of Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books, sourced from Philly Book Store Map

Guest post by Noa Kaumeheiwa, Karen Kohn, and Jenny Pierce

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sub-committee of the Collections Strategic Steering Team (CSST) aims to identify and implement collections practices that ensure Temple Libraries proactively acquire materials by and about under-represented groups and support the publication activities of these groups. While we did not initially have data to show that our collections were inadequately representing marginalized people, this was a safe assumption. After talking to staff at ProQuest and Lehigh University about their processes of purchasing from independent, BIPOC-owned booksellers, the DEI sub-committee decided to pursue a similar project.  

The choice to work with a local, independent seller was to benefit from their expertise in identifying works centering BIPOC and other marginalized groups and to support them financially by making purchases there. In the spring of 2023, Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books in Germantown became the first bookseller identified for the project. Described by the Philadelphia Bookstore Map as selling “Books that highlight & celebrate authors & voices from the Black community & other marginalized peoples,” Uncle Bobbie’s is an independent and BIPOC-owned bookstore. Our expectation was that the books purchased through this initiative would be those we might not discover through standard collection development methods and vendor systems, particularly if they came from independent publishers. 

Subject headings of books purchased from Uncle Bobbie’s, by Ciera Rybak

Many staff have been involved in making this initiative work. Brian Schoolar, Head, Acquisitions & Collection Development, allocated a modest amount of money annually to this program. Every few weeks, Tom Davis, Bibliographic Assistant II, Acquisitions & Collection Development, checks Uncle Bobbie’s website for updates to their list of new releases and copies information to a spreadsheet. Each quarter, a pair of volunteers choose approximately thirty books to purchase. Lori Bradley, Bibliographic Assistant III, Acquisitions & Collection Development, then places the orders on Bookshop.org, which directs profits to Uncle Bobbie’s. 

With the first year of the project ending, the DEI committee wanted to review our purchases to better understand how the initiative affected our collections. We also solicited feedback from those involved in the project to assess the processes. 

There were 112 books ordered in FY2023-24. About half of these, 55 books, had call numbers in Literature. There were 18 books in Social Sciences, on topics ranging from police and prisons to transgender people to interracial adoption. Twelve books were in History mostly focused on African American History. There were 4 music books, relating to punk, jazz, and hip hop, and 3 books on education. The remaining 20 were scattered across subject areas. 

The many literature books include 10 books of poetry. Biography was another popular genre, with 24 books purchased. Slightly more than half the books (63) have a subject heading relating to African American or Black people, while 12 relate to LGBTQ people. 

One of the strengths of independent bookstores is their ability to promote independent publishers not owned by one of the major companies such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, or HarperCollins. We were happy to find that 40% of the books we purchased were from independent publishers, as our usual methods of purchasing can miss these. 

Picture of the new release shelf in Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books store on 5445 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19144, sourced from Uncle Bobbie’s Instagram: @unclebobbies

Although this initiative brought in some books that may not be considered traditional academic literature, selectors chose books they thought would be relevant to research or to students’ personal lives. Examples include: Rikers: An Oral History; Historically Black phrases : from “I ain’t one of your lil’ friends” to “Who all gon’ be there?”; Biting the Hand: Growing up Asian in Black and White America; and Am I Trans Enough? : How to Overcome Your Doubts and Find Your Authentic Self. While there is not enough circulation data to evaluate yet, the project has been successful in acquiring books about marginalized people covering a variety of subject areas, including many we would not have discovered through our approval plans. 

For our second year of ordering from Uncle Bobbie’s, we opened our call for volunteer selectors to all of Temple University Libraries and University Press. More than half of last year’s selectors have expressed interest in participating again, and nine new people have volunteered. Acquisitions staff member Tom Davis says that compiling the lists for selectors to choose from is one of the most meaningful parts of his job. The DEI group is pleased with the project and appreciates everyone who continues to help make it run smoothly.